And let’s join Kathryn, our leader in It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?, at Book Date.

Good morning, bloggers. Are you enjoying your reading? Are movies helping you through the boring and/or dark days? I am doing the best I can to avoid negativity, which is not easy to do when it shows up on every news outlet and social networking site. I could try to avoid those places…and when I am reading, I can actually blank them out. If I am reading a book that completely captivates me. I only read and reviewed two books again this week, but I did enjoy some movies, like A Simple Favor and a strange little family drama on Prime with Bill Pullman and Angelica Huston called Trouble.

When I get restless, bored, or feel distraught, I sometimes mess around with my blogs, so I changed a few blog headers this week. I have a feeling that I’m not done.

I went a little nuts with the “click to buy” feature on Amazon…and bought five books.

So…let’s grab some coffee and take a closer look at my week. I met a friend for coffee at Barnes & Noble on Wednesday (she is facing us below). We had a nice long chatalong with the caffeine.

My moods are dictating my reading, so I picked up a few books before settling on Those Other Women, by Nicola Moriarty.

I have some other Moriarty books on Paige, my Kindle…I may pick up one or more of them later.

***

That was my somewhat tepid week, but for the most part, I kept the negativity at bay. What did your week look like? I enjoyed some Red Velvet Cake & ice cream, with my coffee. I took half the cake home to savor later.

How cool that you got to meet a friend and share some caffeine haha! That’s always good. 🙂 And yes I love it when a book can take me away from all the real life stuff- especially THESE days lol. Bring on the books right??

Oh dear a case of the blahs, it hits us all – summer or winter I think. The muggy heat is making me feel lethargic. I’ve stopped watching the news, do I want to know all the bad news in the world – no I don’t. Okay well I might peek at CNN occasionally because the USA saga totally astounds me!!

Time with a friend and some good books sounds like a great away to avoid the negativity that is everywhere right now. I’ve been avoiding news and losing myself in books and movies. Enjoy those new reads:)

Lunch with friends and caffeine sounds divine! Yes, the news gets me depressed or leaves me feeling anxious. For that reason I read the news once a day and keep busy with the Royals, my career and books! I hope you enjoy all of your new reads!

Yes! There is definitely a lot of negativity to see on the news. I don’t watch the news all that much and try to enjoy the happy stuff even more. And having lunch with friends and family, and enjoying your books is the best cure. 😉
Have a great week and happy reading!

How awesome you got to meet your friend and share a coffee in a bookstore (we don’t have those in my neck of the woods *pouts*). Avoiding social media is the way to go if you want to avoid negativity. I also sometimes avoid the TV. I decided to see what I could watch on TV yesterday evening and I turned on the news channel (not my finest moment to be honest) and I immediately wanted to go hide. Have a great week 😀

I’ve struggled with negativity this week too. It just seems like there’s no good news to be found sometimes… Books haven’t even been much of a distraction as I’m struggling to find anything that holds my attention!
Oh well, next week is a new week! Let’s hope things get better. 🙂

Thanks, Nicci, hope is all we have, now, as we don’t seem to have any power in the situation in our world. Enjoy your books, and you are right: finding one that holds our attention is a challenge. Thrillers usually work for me.

I know what you mean! Our whole political structure is going into meltdown as the catastrophe that is Brexit lurches from crisis to crisis and I cope by simply refusing to go there. Instead I focus on lovely friends and family, good books and my work… I hope the coming week is less meh! and more fun, Laurel. Let’s order more cake!

I find it so difficult to fathom the actions of the leader of our country. It is even more debilitating to me to read the cheers of people I like for this person. I’ve decided to give up on reading about contemporary times and focus on reading historical fiction or fantasy! It’s one solution.

Thanks, Deb, it hurts me that a couple of people in my family, while maybe no longer cheering, will not say a word against him. That feels like betrayal to me, but I must set those thoughts aside…and focus on something positive. And maybe historical fiction is the answer! Enjoy your week as much as possible

I remember when going back to work and thinking I have no holiday time off now until Memorial Day. That is partly how I ended up in my own business. I worked more days and much longer hours but I decided what I would do. I’m not afraid of hard work.

Anyway, I am going to some events in May and August and I need to get myself back in shape. I know I will feel better too. I’ll be enjoying desserts vicariously through you. I love Red Velvet Cake – great choice! Enjoy your reads and watching this week! Anne – Books of My Heart

Negativity can be hard to avoid. I unfollowed a ton of social media accounts last year because the people running them just used them to complain or start drama. I didn’t need that in my life. Have a great week!

That’s funny, I just posted the same thing, these long winter months are bleh. I love the sunshine and warmth of the summer instead. I know what you mean, I don’t like to watch the negatively on the news either, too depressing.
Enjoy your books, yay to Red Velvet Cake & ice cream and Barnes & Noble 🙂

We’re lucky to be out in sunshine here so lots of fab hillwalking to keep me happy. I’m so lucky to not be stuck in the UK during the grey winters. That did used to be depressing so I can understand your negative feelings at this time of year. I love that you’re combating it with cake though. That Red Velvet slice is tempting!

The winter blues are tough sometimes – I usually try to combat them by making plans for future warmer weather – like gardens, trips, etc. I am a huge planner and make tons of lists. I ordered some seed catalogs and even though I have the world’s tiniest garden these days, it is still fun to look through and imagine the flowers and vegetables I might plant.

I am having a hard time reading too – I am sticking to easier to read stuff. Light reading.When I am not reading, I am holed up in our new den watching tv. Lol. I have been trying to get outside on sunny days but the past few weeks we have been taking turns being sick and it sucks. I am sick of sick days!

It is a difficult time to avoid negativity. It’s all over. I’m trying to stay away from Twitter, but it’s hard since some of it isn’t negative. I’m reading and watching a lot of TV. I’m not a big fan of winter in the first place and it’s so cold. I just want to cuddle up and watch TV and/or read. You have some good books on your list. Robyn Carr is always a good read. Enjoy your books and have a good week.

Well Laurel I am not much of a TV fan. I’d rather read a book than watch TV! Now messing with your blog that I know! That’s what I’ve been doing for two weeks trying to find the perfect new theme LOL
Happy Sunday!

This cake looks delicious!
Seems like you and your friend had nice coffee time. 🙂
I hope you will like your new books.
Btw, I have read one book by Nicole Moriarty, I think it was called The Fifth Letter, and even though I don’t remember it all that much, I remember I liked it.

I know what you mean about social media. I left FB a few years ago and haven’t regretted that decision even once. I’ve narrowed my focus in the day-to-day to my family and close friends. And, of course, am so thankful that I love to read.

Yeah…I’m keeping the negativity at bay by surrounding myself with family, good reads and positive thoughts. It’s not always easy but it’s do-able. I also bought quite a few books this month. I need to catch up on reading my purchases. Lunch with friends is always a good thing. Enjoy your new books!

It really is a struggle to keep the negativity at bay these days… we’re bombarded from every imaginable angle. I’m toying with the idea of having a totally news-free (or Trump-free) day at least once a week – no television, computer, etc. Not sure if it’s even possible to do that! Glad you had a chance to get out and enjoy time with a friend and B&N – the perfect antidote!

I have started praying as I watch the news as it is the only way I have found to change my frustration to a better attitude.
Oh that “Click to Buy” can be so tempting!
You clicked on some really good books/authors though.
Happy Reading!

It’s nice and hot here and we’ve been getting some great nightly storms so everything is green and lush at the moment. I have the Nicola Moriarty book on my shelf and I’m looking forward to reading it. I love how easy it is to tap, buy an ebook and there it is ready to be read. I hope you enjoy yours.

It’s hard to keep the negativity at bay these days, isn’t it? My husband can really get caught up in it. I keep telling him to quit watching the news but sometimes you just can’t help it. Thank heavens for books to distract us. I hope you have a great week!

Thanks, Kathy, I also find it impossible to completely avoid the negativity. I guess if I didn’t go online and didn’t turn on the TV…but I like seeing what is happening, too. I guess we have to read the news, but stop when we feel anxious and frustrated, especially since we can’t do anything about the situation…

Thanks, Carol, I have had to do the same thing on FB. What really gets me is that friends are posting things I agree with, and then trolls leap in and ruin everything. The friends must not have privacy settings, or friends of friends are trolls?

I’m almost done with Her One Mistake right now and have enjoyed most of it. Toward the end it’s drifting into some pretty unbelievable territory, so we’ll see how it wraps up. Hope you have a great week.

January is kind of bleak by nature but so far so good. Had a little blog drama this past week which to be honest, totally pissed me off but I’m over it now and I think it all sorted out. One-click can be very dangerous huh? Looks like you grabbed some good ones though.